‘You wouldn’t happen to have seen Houshou around, have you?’ You inquire; you hadn’t had a one-on-one with her since the mission – you feel like you owe her one after that fiasco, at the very least.

You see a mischievous grin form and a disheveled kimono before your eyes, creeping out from the very back of your thoughts into an untouchable illusion before shaking your head. With a little more willpower and control, you give yourself a light shake, dispelling the idea – as much as she had invited you, if you let go for one bit, Akashi would be liable to pounce on any stray ideas you would have had of the CVL, especially now that you knew just where she had acquired her expertise from.

Somehow or the other, this time, Akashi doesn’t leap on the slight hesitation you take in asking her – you’re thankful, at least – you wouldn’t hear the end of it otherwise.

‘She was here this morning,’ Akashi cocks her head to one side, frowning, ‘if I know her, she’d probably be between Mamiya’s and your Barracks – or maybe by any one of the beaches that the Base hasn’t turned into a requisition and supply center.’ She shrugs. ‘You can try any of those, really, but they’re just guesses on my part.’

‘Appreciated, Akashi.’You thank her, giving a salute – more in jest than a formal one – which the pink-haired KanMusu returns, half-mockingly; the smirk is what kills any bearing it has between the two of you. ‘Hope you have a good one.’

‘Hah!’

Akashi throws her head back; you yourself fight back a grimace. With what Akashi had gone through the last several days, not including having to baby you for the week and a half after, you suppose you owed her one sarcastic throwback as she had done.

She brings her features back into focus, standing up and leaning forward, a look of understanding and acknowledgment crossing between the both of you; she gives a defeated, albeit friendly and encouraging smile, nodding you towards the exit. It was time for this well-oiled machine to start up again; Akashi puts her hands in her pockets and turns to the personnel that had just entered the tent.

In their hands is what looks like half your work pile had been in the morning.

‘Take care, Commander.’ Akashi says to your retreating back.

You wave your prosthetic to her, nodding to the recently-arrived personnel.

‘Sir!’

In their haste to salute, they drop their stacks.

You bolt it right out there at the shrill call of your rank and designation.

You decide to hit the beach – you don’t think that Houshou would be at Mamiya’s this late… or this early anyway.

At least, you hope so.

You head towards the disconnected beach from where Tenryuu had worked the day before. The tents are stretched on the other side of your view – this particular part of the town is still covered with rubble, seeing as it was disconnected, but you see a few tents.

This must be where the secondary depot was – at least, that’s you assume by the MPs and attendants standing around by the stairs heading down to the beach.

Sure enough, you see a tent with not one, but two of your KanMusu, on a singular bench that was housed under it.

From the kimono, it is definitely Houshou.

Her back is towards you, and Tenryuu, clad in her bikini, is standing – standing – on the bench that she was seated on, at least until she drops onto it, her expression a little bit more sour; although there isn’t a remote hint of ill in it, more annoyance at probably being dragged away from her post.

‘I don’t know why ya need me for this, Houshou.’ Tenryuu complains under the covers of the tent with her fellow KanMusu – Houshou herself is seated, her back towards you; although, neither of them notice you immediately as you near them.

Houshou begans strumming the guitar quickly, her one-KanMusu audience tapping on the wooden surface as she begins to smile. You open your mouth to call out to the both of them, but Houshou immediately hushes your lack of delicacy by letting out a smooth hum – bringing her guitar to a satisfactory harmony. You find yourself a little stiff from the occurrence; you hadn’t taken to guess she would be the type to pick up an instrument like that.

At least, not the type to pick up and learn it so well.

Then, she sings.

They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot,With a pink hotel, boutique and a swinging hotspot,Don’t it always seem to go,That you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?

Houshou taps her feet as she strums the guitar. You find yourself impressed, crossing your arms as you lean against one of the stiff plastic poles holding up the tent. They still don’t notice you – Tenryuu joins her in humming, her floating rabbit ears cheerfully

They pave paradise and put up a parking lot

Houshou stops, diving into her kimono and pulling out a few sheets of paper.

‘I think I got it wr – !’

Houshou ceases her words as she looks up and sees you, her eyes widening and her

>‘I didn’t know you played the guitar.’ (Curiously inquire into her actions)>‘Just came here to check up you, really.’ (Casually talk with her)>‘I was hoping to discuss official matters, if that’s fine with you.’ (Discuss work)>Write-In

‘I didn’t know you played the guitar.’ You give Houshou a low whistle – she tries to cover herself behind the laminated wood, very much embarrassed – it’s as if you’d stumbled into some strange secret or fetish of hers. ‘I’m impressed, really.’

You put your hands in your pockets as you near Houshou, whose cheeks are red – but at least she’s smiling now, albeit a little nervously, her fingers on

‘I’ve been playing for years, actually.’ She straightens herself, huffing and nodding at you, her embarrassment gone in a flash. ‘Pays to keep busy.’

‘Self-taught?’ You inquire, regarding the musical instrument with appreciative eyes.

It looked a little worn out – the obvious sign that it had seen a lot of use. Along the neck were several stickers of obscure bands, not enough to obstruct her play, for sure. On the base of the guitar were a few larger stickers – bands that you definitely and would surely be a fool not to know – of recognized bands. You see it all over the topboard.

She hurriedly puts the instrument face-down on her lap, waving her hands.

‘Oh, no, my…’ She coughs, regaining her composure. ‘An old Admiral of mine showed me how to play.’ She bites her lower lip. ‘No, that’s a lie… she showed me how to play the shamisen, but I really didn’t find a particular liking for it.’ She admits, sighing again. ‘She let me play her grandson’s guitar after that – back then, I stayed with her when we weren’t off-mission and when I got caught in a really bad mission and – !’

‘I’m leavin’ the both of you. You look like you got another ear to listen, Houshou – and I got work to get to.’ Tenryuu says in a tired voice, getting to her feet. ‘No hanky panky, you two.’

‘No promises.’

Now that was the Houshou you knew.

‘Anyway, um… about the guitar…’

You nod at the same instrument – it did seem like something special; so her Admiral had handed her the item?

‘This?’ She waves her hands hurriedly, saying in a panicky voice. ‘Oh, this isn’t that same guitar. This is mine.’ She pats the bottom of the instrument. ‘Bought it with my own money – first ever purchase.’

‘I really didn’t think you’d find the time to pick up a hobby.’

‘Well, dear Commander, you thought wrong.’ She says almost smugly. ‘My talents aren’t constrained to what’s between the sheets.’

You turn a deep shade of red as she winks at you.

‘Besides,’ she looks a little serene, despite her smirk, ‘men dig a girl who can work an instrument.’

You tell yourself not to give her the satisfaction of an answer.

She raises the guitar again, patting the space next to her.

‘I could show you a bit if you’d like?’

>‘Maybe some other time, Houshou.’ (Decline/Choose one of the options from the last prompt)>‘If you’re willing, I have a thirst to learn.’ (Oblige her)>Write-In

‘If you’re willing to have the patience, I think I have the thirst to pick up a lesson or two.’ You nod, taking a seat next to her.

Houshou lets out a triumphant giggle, picking her guitar up and spinning it to the front, scooting over to you. She smelled a little… sweaty, but you suppose you should have expected it from a whole day’s work. She scuttles next to you uncomfortably as the guitar neck falls into the grasp of your prosthetic.

She frowns, looking straight at your shirt.

‘Oh,’ her frown deepens, giving the guitar a quick strum, ‘you’re bigger than I am.’

Before you could have any other say, she raises herself from her seat… and drops right into you, still holding the guitar. You grunt and frown as she does so – you’re taken aback by the sudden drop, but don’t complain, although you do feel a hard shift between your legs. Houshou’s own shift makes you feel… uncomfortable, to say the least, but not enough to want to drop her right off… or right away, anyway.

Still, you feel the need to at least say something to get the point across, lack of subtlety nothing.

‘You’re heavier than I remember.’ You grimace – Houshou cranes over her shoulder, her eyes wide, before matching your twitch of the lips with her own bright smile, keeping herself from doubling over at the blatant snipe.

‘One for one, are we?’ She laughs breezily, not taking any offense to it, it would seem; she always had a good mood about her at times like this, you find.

Houshou takes your hands, interlacing your fingers with each other as she brings you in direct contact with the guitar, her grip firm.

‘First, this is how you hold it.’ She indicates – you feel a little off, holding it this way, but you don’t say a word. ‘Normally you’d have to start tuning it, but I think we’re okay in that aspect.’ She moves your prosthetic fingers along the neck, dragging it to ‘Now, put your fingers here, here – no, not the index.’ ‘Your middle finger needs to be there.’ She frowns, throwing you back a glance – this small movement takes a little harder than you expect; Houshou has to guide your finger several times, sometimes uncomfortably.

That one shift takes around five minutes to make and you find your fingers in an awkward position, your flesh-and-blood limb steadying the guitar on Houshou’s lap. You feel like the instrument is about to drop into the sand – and being Houshou’s prized possession, you feel a little fear at the back of your head at the possibility of it dropping and breaking.

Still, it would seem that at the moment, she’s satisfied with how your fingers are aligned along the instrument.

‘Now, we strike the chord with the pick…’ She trails off.

It takes a few seconds for you to realize that the we in the sentence, however, meant you.

At least, until Houshou’s patience seems to reach a point where she holds your prosthetic in her hands, and makes your strike the instrument herself. You feel unnatural, a little toyed with, but you realize that… this was Houshou’s way: a guiding hand, knowing when you were lost enough that you needed to be shown, a repetitive form of showing and strumming again and again with you, until…

She lets go, and you’re doing it all on your own, awkward and clumsy, but without her.

‘See?’ She leans into you – her hair kissing your lips as warmly as any burning wind. ‘Just like making love.’

‘Houshou.’ You shift uncomfortably – Houshou could put you on the spot when wanted you, too.

‘That was a D Major.’ She’s right back at it, humming as she beckons you to keep with the note; you find yourself a little embarrassed, but comply. ‘Most basic of the steps.’

‘All that for one note?’ You practically whine.

‘It takes years to be good at it.’ She says matter-of-factly – you draw parallels to a stern parent teaching their child a skill they’d probably mastered eons ago. ‘You’re telling me you never found the time to pick up an instrument?’

‘I did.’ You remember the lessons that’d been dropped on you as a child. The bad tones rumble at the back of your mind. ‘I just wasn’t very good at it.’ You grimace as you keep strumming. ‘Or interested, really.’

‘Well… do I have your interest now?’

‘I’ll follow up on that once I get this lesson down, I suppose.’ You answer neutrally, ceasing to strum. ‘Wouldn’t want to disappoint my teacher.’

That seems to satisfy her, and once again her fingers are around yours, changing and shifting. She’s patient, a little bit in the rush at times, but ultimately

‘This is a G-Major, now, your fingers go here and here – there’s no need to be scared, just strum and I’ll see if you got it right or wrong.’

You hit a twang. She smiles back at you.

‘Back and forth, back and forth.’

This goes on for the better part of what you guess would be over an hour. Sometimes you’d get lost, sometimes frustrated, but Houshou would always, always drag you back to another go. You don’t know if you want to learn anymore, but Houshou’s way of guiding you through it was…

‘It’s nothing original,’ she hastily adds to her declaration, ‘but it’s a song I’ve been trying to get right for quite some time. My old Admiral… she used to have his albums lying around so I just…’

She trails off, suddenly red as beet. This was a side of her you definitely wouldn’t mind seeing often’ but, you digress, Houshou wanted to perform a special tune just for you, and anymore thoughts or shifts would probably affect the performance she had so bravely laid out. She doesn’t move from her position on your lap, but the awkward turning had practically splayed her across your two legs.

‘This I have to hear.’ You put your arms around her, pulling her in and steadying her form and bringing the instrument to her chest softly. ‘A performance by Houshou.’

‘Please don’t laugh at me.’ She says in a small voice – practically a squeak, really – and steadies the guitar, the instrument out of your hands.

You observe her tune – that’s what she explained the activity she currently was doing was before – the guitar, turning the dial left and right before letting out a breath. She strums the guitar light, then harshly. She strikes chords one after the other – apparently your playing around with it had put it out of whack for her own leisure and this was how most players got their groove back: by randomly hitting notes and twisting the knobs, left and right.

Maybe one day you could do the same for yourself – seeing Houshou handle it so expertly gave you a little bit of a want to try it for yourself.

Then, she starts playing. It has a certain catchy opening chord to it, and Houshou handles it stiffly. There’s a slight hesitance to her performance, and she bites her lip as she tries to get certain sounds – whatever they are – right. It’s not until a few minutes pass and she stops, letting out a breath.

You see her fingers work.

Your eyes widen – Houshou was good. However, a thought strikes you…

There was a familiar beat to this sound, even with just a guitar to hear from.

‘You said you wouldn’t laugh!’ She tries to get up from you, before you hastily grab her, giving an apologetic look. ‘This was a mistake – it’s so embarrassing and – urgh – just forget it, please, sir, I don’t want to – !’

‘Houshou.’ You say sternly, although the twitch of your lips hinted other intentions. ‘I’m sorry,’ you apologize earnestly, although you can’t keep the smile off your face.

She would have none of it, however, immediately beginning the riff. Against your better – or worse – judgment, you proceed with her implied request, hoping that she wouldn’t be the one to bust a gut this time. You frown as you feel pressure on your right foot – Houshou’s using you as a time piece, it would seem – and bite a lip.

The first words reach your thoughts, and you break out in that voice of yours.

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,I'm gonna shoot you right down,

You find a small quake of Houshou’s laughter travel through you from her position – but red as you are, you steady yourself to not give her the satisfaction of having broken you down to the core of your shame. She strums energetically – at the back of your head you hear the other accompanying instruments, and snap your fingers to the beat… and her stepping on your foot.

Right offa your feet,Take you home with me,Put you in my house,

You exchange smirks. Of course you would.

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,A-how, how, how, how,Hmmm-hmmm-hmmm-hmmm

Houshou plays enthusiastically, using your foot to keep time. You find yourself using your left foot – the one she doesn’t step on – to do so yourself, swaying left and right as she looks back at you with a mischievous look.

She cuts you off at the first word.

I love to see you strut,Up and down the floor,When you talking to me,

She purrs, leaning into you.

Dat baby talk

Subtlety wasn’t her best point.

Ah like it like dat,

You turn red as she takes over, moving along with the beat.

Whoa, yeah!

She’s definitely doing this for her own enjoyment now, striking notes with an abandon you wouldn’t have found on the airwaves.

Talk that talk, walk that walk,

Well, if her flying fingers were any more evidence, you could say without a doubt that there was one thing very apparent with Houshou: she could play when she wanted to.

‘That was amazing.’ You breathe, your shoulders shaking as Houshou drops off you with a proud smile. ‘I would’ve never thought that – !’

‘That I could pull it off?’She finishes for you – you roll your eyes, putting your hands in your pockets.

‘That you could pull it off so well.’ You correct – or add – Houshou didn’t need to know you didn’t have a sliver of indication that she probably didn’t do anything besides slip innuendos and tease you to bits in front of the others. ‘There’s a difference between playing a tune and doing that.’ You admit, though, nodding in her direction.‘I’m not sure if it’s even…’

You can’t find the words – Houshou may not have achieved as much as the airwaves had, but she’d kept you in time just fine, made you stick to your melody and most of all… let you have fun. It was something you didn’t think you could have – what with your bad experience with musical lessons in the past.

‘You’re making me blush, you know.’ She giggles, bringing a hand to her mouth.

‘I’ll say!’

‘What the – !’ You blink, turning to the newcomer, sitting on the stairs, holding a big smile. ‘Old man.’

The Old Man, the buggy driver, sits in his slacks and t-shirt, out of uniform and giving the both of you a look that was a mixture of approval and mischief. You find yourself embarrassed as it dawns on you… he had probably been there the whole time you’d been singing with Houshou.

You want to curl up into a ball and disappear.

‘So this is where you go off to to make it sweet with your little honey there.’ He tips his hat – you notice he had what looked like a 10-gallon hat, perched casually on his head.‘How you doin’, ma’am?’

‘Well, kids’re healthy, wife’s whinin’ back home ‘bout how I should up sticks and dash, but you know…’ He rubs the back of his neck, smirking, ‘awfully hard drivin’ back, what with… all that traffic.’

‘How long were you there t – ?’

‘Long enough to tell that your girlfriend practically carried you through that second pick.’ He snipes, making you wince and Houshou giggle. ‘Good chemistry, but you’re a long way from winning on stage. Reminds me of the time we actually played back in the hoose… not a proud moment, not at all. At least we won a chicken… and the steak caught fire, so that was the best we could’ve hoped…’

You rub your temples as he rambles – you don’t both to listen, but are jolted by a step on your foot from Houshou, nodding to the now-grinning Old Man.

‘Mind giving an Old Man another listen for the road?’

‘I thought I was practically carried by my girlfriend?’

‘Humor me.’

You turn to Houshou, who gives you a defeated sigh.

>Humor him>Tell him you’re too busy right now to give a performance>Write-In

‘All right, Old Man, we give, what do you want to hear?’ You give a defeated raise of your hand, to which he returns with a spritely grin – one that you’re not too enthused at the prospect of entertaining, but… you owed the Old Man a bit, especially after roping him into that fiasco.

‘That’s the spirit!’ He gets to his feet, before looking thoughtful, fist under his chin. ‘Well, I don’t actually have one in particular, per se.’ He admits, to your consternation and slight amusement. ‘Anything that little lady has at her fingers is okay by me – as long as it’s not too hard on the old ticker.’

You turn to Houshou – after all, she was the one doing all the heavy-lifting here.

‘Well, I can’t…’ She tiredly droops her shoulders, before adopting the same pose as the old man, resting the heavy-looking instrument on her foot without a care. She snaps her fingers, hoisting the guitar and dashing out onto the sand, looking a little too enthusiastic for your liking. ‘Hang on, I might – yes, I do!’

She beckons you to come over with a nod of her head, which you do, embarrassingly doing so with hands in his pockets.

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman,

Your blood runs cold as Houshou throws you a smirk.

Giving all your love to just one man,

This wasn’t a duet. This was a public execution.

You'll have bad times, and he'll have good times

She bumps into you, smirking as the mortified look on your features etches ever so deeper into your flesh and bone. The old man on the stairs has a wistful look on his face

Doin' things that you don't understand,But if you love him, you'll forgive him,

She gives you a look, leaning into you as she strums into the guitar. Oh, this woman could be brutal when she wanted to be, yes she could.

Even though he's hard to understand,And if you love him, oh be proud of him,'Cause after all he's just a man.

She mouths ‘You’re up’ to you, with that damnable snigger following the next chord.

Stand by your man, give him two arms to cling to,And something warm to come to,When nights are cold and lonely,

The Old Man mutters some lady’s name, sobbing like there was no tomorrow as you and Houshou join, the smirking minx next to you, that Devil’s visage clamming your fingers up.

Stand by your man, and show the world you love himKeep giving all the love you can,Stand by your man,

Houshou smiles at you. Oh, does she smile.

Stand by your man, and show the world you love himKeep giving all the love you can.

And it's a song that's a roundabout way of saying you're a worthless dude, but your girl's essentially still here to provide for you because she's cool like that even though it's hard on her. It's practically the "kitchen complaint" song.

Despite your better judgment, you turn around to see Mamiya and several Destroyer KanMusu, framed by the setting sun. You recognize Ikazuchi and her sisters, wiping away tears as they observed the smiling Houshou – yes, they were definitely the smiling Houshou. There are several others – one bored-looking white-clad KanMusu, whose arms are crossed and nodding in approval and another in a school uniform who was whispering to another one in a school uniform.

They could have passed for regular teenage girls any other day, really.

‘Houshou, that was incredible!’ Mamiya practically tackles Houshou, making your CVL stagger slightly as she tries to regain her bearings. Houshou nervously throws you a glance – you don’t return it, taking the opportunity to step to the side and allow her to bask in it all. ‘You – You definitely need to open up for Open Mic Night Tomorrow! I’ll even give you some money for it straight away!’

Houshou gives you a look of distress, her eyes begging you to pull her away from the center of Mamiya’s storm of words, but you – cruelly and selfishly, as there is nothing but – ignore her, taking one wide stride away from the two of them. While normally you wouldn’t do so, you had dealt with Irako before, and if Irako’s attitude was any indication on how hands-on Mamiya could be into the crux of things, using Nagato as your last and perhaps only significant, test case, this probably wasn’t a pie you wanted to stick a finger into.

The short Destroyers, however, had no qualms, three of them – three you recognize as Ikazuchi and her sisters, all of them jumping like excitable little elves. You count backwards from ten, hoping they would not ask for an encore of that… that episode.

Your pride had enough wounding in it to make a valley.

‘Commander! Commander!’ Ikazuchi approaches you with all the subtlety and restraint of a sledgehammer, although she doesn’t practically barrel into you as you would have expected. ‘Are you going to be performing with Houshou-san tomorrow, are you?’

‘Um, I don’t kno – !’

‘Are you? Are you?’

‘I, too, am curious.’

‘Look, gals, I – !’

You turn to look at Houshou – her gaze is inquisitive, but not rushed. She clutches her instrument close to her chest, watching you with a set of lips shaped into neither a scowl nor a smile. She gives Mamiya the odd bit of attention, catching a few words and giving them back, but you realize that right now, your answer to the Destroyers seems oddly…

Of rather significant interest to her, really.

>‘I think Houshou should take this one. She’s a solo act.’ (Decline)>‘Only if she’d like me with her, really. I’m just a prop.’ (Defer to Houshou)>‘I’m not her partner… I’m her competition!’ (Sign up of your own volition for Open Mic Night)>Write-In

‘Only if she’d like me with her, really,’ you muse, hands in your pockets, ‘I’m just a prop.’

The group of three instantly turns to Houshou, their eyes sparking for an expectant answer. Mamiya herself still prattles on and on about making her restaurant a success, or her open mic night a success, or maybe even both, really, as Houshou struggles to answer the question. The Destroyers all smile at her, enthusiastic little children, really, despite their true nature as weapons upon the open sea.

‘Well, ah – !’

Houshou gives you a quick glance, biting her lip. Her eyes light up, and die down and she looks to the small Destroyers, her shoulders drooping slightly as she cradles her guitar.

‘I’m sorry, girls.’ Houshou gives you another look, one that you can’t really tell, before giving them apologetic shakes of her head, confirming in the negative na ‘Unfortunately, the Commander and I aren’t a duo – we won’t be performing together at Mamiya’s together. He was just helping me tune up my guitar and get my voice right.’

‘She’s too good for him!’

The whole beach erupts in laughter, you give a smile to the Old Man, yelling right back with a raised arm.

‘You damn right she is, Old Man!’

That hurt a little harder than you thought it would.

‘I think this ends our evening’s endeavor for today, Houshou.’ You give her a respectful bow. ‘I’ll see you back at the barracks.’

‘Of course, sir.’ She says neutrally, bowing in return. ‘Thank you for today.’

You move up the stairs – you had a little time before the training session in the evening began, but not much. There wasn’t much to dilly-dally, and you had a schedule to keep; you don’t know just how angry the Vice-Admiral or your Trainer could get about you being late, and you really don’t want to find out.

‘Oh, Commander, before you go!’

Mamiya runs up onto the cracked asphalt, calling out for you.

‘Yeah, Mamiya?’

‘I heard that you wanted to start cooking for the KanMusu, is that right?’

That kind of slipped your mind. Funny how being busy did that.

‘Yeah, it is.’ You rub the back of your neck, remembering your words to Shigure. ‘I kind of promised I’d make some casserole for the Division when I started out here, then, well, I kind of underestimated my ability to cook.’ You throw her an apologetic glance. ‘I didn’t know that you only tasted one flavor.’

‘Well, it’s more like it’s a spectrum of salt, but, yes, you’re right – it is the only flavor we can taste.’ She shakes her head, getting back on point. ‘But, enough of that – you want to learn don’t you?’

‘Of course I do.’

‘Well, I have a specialist chef that just flew in – miracle of miracles – he could teach you a few of the tricks. Interested?’

>‘Why don’t you teach me?’>‘Don’t think I have the time.’ (Decline)>‘That’d be great. When can I start?’ (Accept Mamiya’s Offer)

‘That’d be great, really.’ You feel a smile creep on you – you’d been rather ashamed of putting it off for so long, being a former cook, but now… now at least you could take a step to that casserole you’d promised Shigure and the others. ‘When can I start?’

‘Well, the open night’s tomorrow, and people will be really busy.’ Mamiya pouts and crosses her arms, looking thoughtful. Indeed, everything was such a rush now. ‘How about next week?’ She offers, shrugging her shoulders – even she couldn’t tell if it was a good time for you. ‘I’ll get one of your attendants to give you a date and you can decide if that’s fine with you. How’s about that?’

‘That’d be great, actually – I’m kind of swamped as is.’ That was the truth, if there ever was one.

‘Well, aren’t we all?’ Mamiya coughs into a fist, chortling.

Comman… der…

‘You all right?’ You blink, rubbing the back of your head and looking around as Mamiya regards you.

‘Don’t burn yourself out, Commander.’ She says with a wink. ‘Thank you again.’

The both of you go your separate ways. You yourself trudge along the familiar asphalt towards Mighty Mick’s; the streets are again lined with maintenance staff, adjusting the lights for the night; you also notice several tall poles, complete with megaphones – a re-installation of the town’s previous alarms were finally on the way after weeks.

They must have finally – at least around here, anyway – got the lines up and running enough for the sirens and the like to be put back up as usual. You recognize a few former gang members saluting you – or trying to, at least, they’re still a little clumsy with it.

You’re in Mighty Mick’s with a few minutes to spare, where you catch the Vice-Admiral giving a punching bag a world of hurt as the Trainer notices you, handing you a curt, silent nod.

‘There’s my guy.’ The Vice-Admiral greets, ‘We were just talking about you.’

‘Vice-Admiral.’ You salute.

'Commander.' He doesn't look away from the bag.

‘What’s on the agenda, sir?’

‘A little more on the basics – but first, you know the drill, Commander.’ He nods to the mat next to you, still punching the bag. ‘Stretch ‘em out.’

‘Don’t I have to change first?’

‘Did you bring your clothes from yesterday?’

‘No, but – !’

‘Then we’re not having you running around buck naked. How do you think it’d look on this man’s fine establishment?’

Your Trainer grunts.

You bend over and get into a stretch, groaning as you feel the movement of bone and muscle, the strain of your joints making itself known more than yesterday ever did.

You see Tenryuu, clad in her bikini – when would she be in anything but, really – her feet bare and that damnable grin clad on her features. Her hands on her hips and she looks down at you with her one good eye, regarding your pose on the ground and arms forward, legs tucked underneath. It crosses your mind that you and her look quite the contrast; Tenryuu was fairly athletic, with defined pectorals and arms that had seen their fair share of work to go along with a lithe energetic form, despite her buxom state.

‘In the flesh.’ She crouches, cocking her head to one side. ‘Warmin’ up?’

‘Stretching.’ Which was probably the same thing, but you felt a need to be more specific with this.

‘I hear chatter and no work, my wayward son.’ the Trainer’s voice booms, now wearing several pads and what looks like a baseball catcher’s padding and oven mitts, his eyes still on the Vice-Admiral. ‘We got a schedule to keep, so get them stretches done.’

‘Tenryuu.’ The Vice-Admiral tosses his gloves aside, turning to your CL with a neutral gaze.

‘Vice-Admiral.’ She instantly goes into a salute, bikini or no – the Vice-Admiral gives you a once over, his gaze still neutral as she does this… and throws a smirk.

‘Give your Commander a little encouragement.’ He chuckles darkly, turning back to the Trainer.

The Trainer and the Vice-Admiral get into the ring, no more words uttered between you or them. Tenryuu immediately gets into position behind you; you feel a sense of deja-vu come over you as she does, her nose brushing the back of your neck as your arms raise under her instruction. You feel a slight jolt of discomfort; Tenryuu had you in a more extreme position, but nothing so bad.

‘This is how you’re supposed to do it.’ Tenryuu presses down; you wince slightly as you feel the embarrassment of direct instruction creep on your mind – you were a grown man, after all. ‘Here.’

‘I kn – DAMN!’

You curse and swear under your breath as you feel a pull in your ribs and along both sets of your shoulders. You wince and hope the tears don’t show – pain covers every fiber of your torso and you just want it to stop.

‘Hey, hey, keep at it – no slacks; you’re gonna end up with a worse sore if you stop now.’

You hold back a retort and follow her – not that you could defy her, what with you being practically in her hold.

‘That’s not so bad now, is it?’ Tenryuu’s words have a hint into it as she eases you into the next position, hunched but not quite bending so extremely, your joints and bones whining into place… but not with such a following of pain.

‘Actually, no – I feel… a lot better, actually.’ You say truthfully – that nagging crick in your neck that had been an annoyance since you’d started getting into position for the stretches was now gone and you didn’t find so much difficulty in the positions.

‘Not saying that just ‘cause you got my tits pressed into your back, are you?’ Tenryuu teases, draping her arms over you instead of supporting your elbows.

‘I thought that was a support cushion.’ You quip right back, throwing her a smirk… which turns into a grimace as Tenryuu brings you into another position.

‘Okay, big mouth, a little more to the back.’ She commands – you follow her as she eases herself to make room for your movement; Tenryuu could be a pretty good teacher with the way she moved about – you admit that much about her, at least. ‘No pain?’

‘A bit… but I think I’m getting used to it. I don’t feel like exploding in eight different directions, at the very least.’ You laugh off the last of the pinpricks in your elbows and back – five wasn’t eight, but you weren’t one to complain – especially considering how this was merely the opening number to your

‘I don’t think so…’ You chuckle as Tenryuu moves your forearm up and down – she was still fascinated by it; that would probably never die down. ‘Some oil would be good for it, though – I think, anyway.’

Tenryuu puts her hands on your shoulders and eases herself back and away, supporting you as you lay back. That soreness from before returns, albeit not as much as before – maybe you’re just too used to it – and bring your knees up – which eases it, you find – your back now parallel to the floor fully, and Tenryuu herself at full height, looking down on you with approval.

‘All right, you’re on your back. Now bring your leg up on your knee.’

You do so.

‘Lift and pull.’

Again, you do so. You shift your body left and right, your torso rolling as you make the movements. Your arms and shoulders whine for a bit, but after a few minutes of the repeated rolling, your legs, your arms and the rest feel a lot fresher, a lot more energetic. The stiffness leaves you and surprisingly enough, you find space to… breathe.

Ten minutes later, you’re on your feet, feeling better than you had before coming into the gym.

You drop onto all-fours, groaning as you feel the ache in your muscles. You bite your lip, as the first bead of sweat drops onto the mat. Above you, Tenryuu lets out a mocking chuckle – probably meant in jest, but in your current mood, you can’t really discern between the others. You groan as you lift your prosthetic – for the second time realizing just how much weight it added – and put all your weight into one arm. This wasn’t nearly as painful as before, but pain was pain, even if you could measure it.

‘How you holding up, Commander?’ Tenryuu inquires neutrally, the only thing in your direct view her feet – she was hovering to your right, giving a good look to your current form – and she looked like she didn’t have anything to say about your current position or how it was wrong. ‘Need a helping hand?’

‘I… can manage… Tenryuu.’ You try to turn your head upwards to shoot her a dismissive glare, but fine the stiffness in your neck, more likely than not from your current exercise, pushes you out of an eligible option to do so. ‘Start counting for me, won’t you?’ You grunt, dropping your body slightly.

You don’t know why you ask her to do that; it’s not as if you’d keep an ear out for her anyway.

As you begin the first push, then the second, everything seems to tune out. There’s a frustration, a burning anger inside you that wants to push, that wants out; it’s as if your arms and your legs are deeming you unworthy of them, as bizarre as it sounds. Tenryuu must be saying something over that buzz, but you don’t pay attention to it, she circles you, feet shifting in and out of the view of your one good eye. You push up and down; it’s like nails are making a new residency of your elbow and shoulder, but you curse it out under your breath. You don’t count, not at all, you just go on and on.

‘Come on, you fat shit.’ You don’t know if that’s Tenryuu, you, the Vice-Admiral, Nachi or anyone else you knew. It just repeats in your head. ‘Go until you can’t go anymore.’

You push – up, down, repeat – and go on and on until you feel the burning sensation build and build, then stop… and go on, again. You feel like a waterfall is rushing down your neck, the rapids forming at the back of your head and a volcano had erupted in your mouth. The din, the buzz that is Tenryuu’s counting is still nothing more than that, but you keep at it, telling yourself to suffer and suffer until no one could bother coming for you and saying that they could do worse.

You bring yourself up and down, up and down, your thighs feeling the strain of intense pressure, of the sheer heat they shear through in breaking wall after wall of your limits, your good eye seeing only the dirty blue of the mat and your mind elsewhere.

‘Here. Take it.’ the Vice-Admiral throws you a water bottle – you chug it down for what it’s worth.

You feel a headache coming along.

‘You crazy ass,’ he frowns at you, letting out a sigh of relief as he backs away, ‘you went at it for 45 minutes. What the Hell were you thinking?’

‘I can’t feel my arm.’ You try to sit up, ‘I think I…’

‘You arm’s in one piece, but your body’s sore.’ Your Trainer approaches you, raising his hand to keep you from getting up – the alien expression, a mix of worry and demand, right on his face – pushing you right down. ‘Sorry to say, kiddo, but today, you’ll be exercisin’ no more.’

‘I think that’s the standard effect of doing one-armed push-ups.’ The Vice-Admiral quips, gesturing to your CL, who regards you with a neutral gaze in her one eye. ‘Tenryuu here thought you were in some weird trance or something; you just wouldn’t stop… I admit, though, that was pretty impressive,’ he admits, ‘but you can’t keep the pace up for that much – if you do, you’re going to end up burning out early.’ He raises his hands, pushing for emphasis, laughing lightly. ‘Ease yourself into the schedule, you know.’

You clutch your side, feeling a cramp build up and tears gather at the corner of your eye.

‘What’s – What’s next, then?’ You try to get up, but Tenryuu raises a finger and scrunches her face into a scowl, jabbing it to the floor as an indication of just where she’d prefer you to be.

‘Next, is,’ the Vice-Admiral rubs his temples. ‘you going back to the barracks for a good night’s rest. You’re going to sprain something if you keep going at this pace.’

‘No, I – !’ You protest, but are silenced by another look from your superior.

‘If it isn’t apparent, Commander, I’m not suggesting.’ He glares at you. You shut up and not let a peep out. ‘I’m ordering you to do so; you’re in no condition to operate under the circumstances and make up a third of the Officers on-site.’

His gaze softens and he gives you a pat on the shoulder, which you wince at. He was right – you were in no condition to continue.

‘You did okay.’ He consoles, running a hand through his hair and standing up. ‘We’ll get back to it when we can.’ He turns to your CL, gesturing to you with a bob of his head. ‘Tenryuu, I don’t think our friend’s fit to walk to the buggy down the road. If you would?’

In a flash, you are in Tenryuu’s arms, a bride in the cradle of her groom, who smugly looks down on you.

You’re mortified.

‘Seriously?’

‘I am so holding this against you for the rest of your days.’

‘The only thing missing is a dress on you and a white horse for me.’

You lean back – painfully – into Tenryuu’s carry, groaning. Here was a story to tell...

You feel the irritating poke of fingers into your back, but don’t bother to turn around. You’re in no mood to entertain the two KanMusu who are sniggering, pushing their digits into your sore body. A twitch develops over your eye as you try your best to not rise to it; you’re too sore, too tired and too embarrassed

‘The Commander’s so squishy, ehe – !’ Samidare snickers from behind you – your back is facing the seat of the battered old couch and you honestly can’t tell which of their fingers is digging into you now; as far as you’re concerned, they’re both just pesky botherers.

‘Oh, you’re right, the Commander’s so squishy.’ Shigure’s voice is one of fascination, and you’re tempted to knock her on the head with a karate chop… but your shoulders are just too stiff for any real movement, right now – the nap hadn’t done you any favors, to be quite honest.

‘I swear, when I get back up the both of you are going to get it.’ You say coolly, to no immediate or visible effect – Samidare and Shigure just keep poking at you, giggling like idiots from the sound of it.

‘Cranky?’ Nagato’s face comes into view, tired and lovely, her red eyes looking into your single one; her lips are curled into a small smile and a feeling of sympathy emanates from her – one that you can’t help but give an upturn of your lips back as a response.

‘A little.’ You admit, ignoring the grabby touches of Samidare and Shigure. ‘Mostly in pain, but…’

‘Squishy, ehe – !’

‘Squishy…’

‘If there was ever a time I’ve resolved to lose the excess fat, this is it.’ You grimace with a tone of finality. ‘With two of my trusted Destroyers poking at my ribs as if I was made out of jello.’

Samidare and Shigure let out a cry of protest, to Nagato’s apparent amusement.

‘But Commander is so squishy… and smells good…’ Shigure sounds very much content, and if the sudden uncomfortable weight is any indication, focused on your side, she’d taken up residence on your groaning form, giggling like a squirrel.

As they do, you hear the sound of the front door slamming open, along with the loud footsteps of, you hope, could only be one of your KanMusu. You turn yourself around, to see Shigure and Samidare vacating their spots by the couch, helping Takao – who had just arrived – with three crates that were the size of their torsos.

‘We have the week’s rations.’ Takao says, a tone of relief to her voice. ‘Murakumo, put them on the table, won’t you?’

Murakumo appears from behind Takao, holding two small crates herself, one apparently filled with three sacks of… something.

Your nose twitches – it was something that you weren’t used to smelling; it was like a mix of fish and squid oil mashed together.; in fact, the smell was such that you struggle to your feet to curiously judge just where it was coming from and what it was. Takao rushes to the table, rifling through the content of the crates that had been set on top of the table.

With another grunt, you drop the cooling pack onto the couch and move to join Takao.

‘Rations? For the Division?’

‘Commander.’ Takao gives you a smile, going through a small black box from one of the crates – none of them had brand names, but each definitely had some sort of… hazard symbol or something. ‘Yes, these… the Admiral thought every Division could use at least some food available for access on site – which to say is, right now, we’re the only Division, not counting the Expeditionary or Patrol Forces.’

‘So, we’re being reinforced with snacks?’ You inquire, picking up a blank silver pack, which Takao snatches away from you quickly – you frown at her, but she ignores you, going through the rest of the crate with an annoyed tone; she was apparently looking for something.

‘No – we are being reinforced with snacks.’ Nagato interrupts, grabbing a blue box with a label saying HIGH TEST CONSUMPTION right out of the crate, to Takao’s apparent and growing annoyance. ‘All the food in this crate is treated for KanMusu and KanMusu only.’

‘What am I supposed to eat, then?’ You sound a little bit whinier than you intend to, but you are a little annoyed that there hadn’t been any thought spared for you.

‘Commander, really?’ Takao throws you a look, one that you don’t know if you warrant.

‘You have a whole leg of lamb for you in the freezer.’ Nagato frowns at you, nodding to the cooling unit in the corner.

‘Oh,’ It hits you. Funny how things slipped your mind when you were exhausted, really, ‘yeah, I kind of forgot about that.’

‘What is in those – ?’

‘No snacking before dinner.’ Takao chastises Nagato, not looking up at all as her hand grabs your Battleship’s wrist as she moves to open the box.

You pick up one of the sacks, holding it up to your nose, wincing as you realize that this was where the strange odor had originated from. You peer into it, to see black crystals inside – they look more like gravel than sand, more sand than fine diamond – and find that they weigh a lot despite the small sack.

‘Yeah, I suppose,’ you chuckle, feeling a sliver of pain creep up your collar bone – maybe a hot shower could help you get things running, ‘and I’m not up to any of that business tonight, Nagato. Maybe in the morning, or something.’

Nagato gives rolls her eyes, but the smile doesn’t leave her looks.

You run a hand through your hair, taking her advice and making your way to the corridor as the bustle of activity raises in the common area.

‘Nagato-san, am I able to get ammo privileges for the range? They said I’d have to ask you.’ You hear Shigure call out in a sing-song voice from behind the kitchen counter.

As they engage in discussion, you take your first steps on the stairs, wincing as you put your weight your left arm and move upwards, the flickering lights of the hallway making things a little hard for you to find the steps. Sometimes you wonder if it wasn’t at times useful to be a KanMusu with built-in night vision capabilities, really – and as you think this you stub your toe just before the first platform, letting out a grunt and a muttered curse.

This day just kept getting better and better.

You make your way to your room, opening the door to find things as tidy as Kaga had left them to be; you head on to the cabinet, opening it to grab a few bottles for your use. t the back of your mind, you tell yourself to pay Kaga back one of these days. After all, with all the things that had been going on, you’d plowed through her toiletries like a mooch; maybe when you ended up back inland you could pick up a few things for her.

You take your tower off the rack, stripping yourself of your wares. You mutter under your breath that maybe a washing machine didn’t seem so far off as a luxury good right now; you certainly could use one instead of rotating between sun-dried clothes.

Wrapping your towel around your waist, you head down the now slightly-darker corridor – maintenance would have to check with this sometime – and into the washroom, clutching the shampoo and shower gel.

‘Anyone out there? Could use a little help here!’

You freeze and frown as you enter the bathroom; you look around, you’d heard a voice, but…

‘Oi!’

‘Nachi.’ You mutter under your breath, walking over to one of the locked stalls.

‘I’ll pardon anything, just get me a roll or something already!’ Nachi cries out from behind the stall door, her frustration clear and her distress even more so; however, that didn’t mean you could take her lack of discipline and poise just like that… especially as her Commander, as antagonistic as she had been all this time.

You cross your arms, leaning against the door, frowning – contemplating whether or not you could help her. She could be such a goon at times, but… you couldn’t put your own prejudices above your duty.

‘C – Commander?’ Her voice, probably for the first time in existence, takes a pleading tone.

‘As I was saying, pardon my disbelief at the situation, but how in the world did you end up in this… predicament?’ You repeat your intended question, rubbing your shoulder – still sore as before.

‘What’s there to tell?’ She grumbles, barely audible.

‘Well, for one, I’m kinda curious how you of all people would get caught in such a silly state of affairs – you are, after all, one of the best performing KanMusu on record.’ ‘Plus, I think I could use a good laugh.’

‘Look in the mirror.’ She snarls.

You grimace – touche.

‘Please.’ You professionally enquire.

You hear an audible rumble of annoyance, and can’t help but smirk.

‘I had a big lunch – toilets in Mamiya’s weren’t working and held it in and it kinda settled – rushed right back after my hours and dropped my clothes and dashed straight for a big one.’

Quick and concise, as always. You raise an eyebrow – you had expected some sort of hidden Abyssal subversion somewhere in there that made her take cover in the stall or something; not an iota of humor in that hypothesis, very much serious.

‘Seriously?’ You chuckle, your shoulders quaking – this was not what you expected from Nachi, really.

‘Then I found out that this little bugger’s got no flowing water to wash my ass… and there’s no friggin’ tissue to wipe it, either!’

‘How long have you been in there?’

‘Shigure was supposed to help me.’ That was strange – Shigure had said nothing of Nachi’s predicament; in fact, she’d been downstairs poking you for the better part of an hour. ‘She came in here just now.’

‘Oh, was she?’

‘About two hours ago.’

‘Two hou – how long have you been stuck in there?!’ You balk.

‘2 hours, 36 minutes and 56 seconds to the time you answered.’ Her voice quivers as ‘Now, would you please help me? I reek, my ass is crusty and I’ve been seated here for longer than I care for! I just want this over and done with!’

You rub your temples.

‘This is a strange, strange day…’

>‘Hang on a sec, I think the other stall has some.’ (Help her)>Leave wordlessly (Shower, don’t help her, leave her to her fate)

‘Hang on a sec. I think the other stall has some.’ You let out an amused smile, opening the door to the second stall – there was no roll there. ‘Hang on, maybe the supply closet has so – oh wait.’

Behind the nozzle and tube, you see a stack of rough brown toilet rolls wrapped in plastic. You pick it up and rip it open, taking one of them out and move yourself outside the stall to roll it underneath Nachi. You frown as you realize the door’s bottom completely reached the floor, leaving no room for you to do so. You groan as you move back into the stall you’d vacated, stepping on the bowl and…

Slipping and having your bare foot drop into the dirty pool of the bowl.

‘What was that?’

‘Nothing.’ You grumble, pulling your foot out.

You let out a curse and count backwards from ten, a mantra to keep you from strangling the apparatus or breaking it into pieces with your mechanical arm, repeated mentally for good measure and again, climb up. The gap above left enough room to drop the roll down to Nachi; it’d do.

‘I’m dropping it on you from the top, so make sure you catch it, okay?’ You put your hand in the nook above, slipping slightly thanks to your dirty wet foot, but otherwise keeping yourself steady on the bowl.

‘Ready.’ She utters from the stall – you drop the bomb.

‘Got it?’

‘Yeah, thanks.’ She really does sound thankful, and with that, you step down – again, slightly slipping but otherwise fine.

You step out of the stall and limp towards the showers on the other side of the partition, limping as to limit the gross contact of your dirty, wet foot with the tiles. You make a mental note to yourself to mop later… or, deviously, schedule Shigure to do it. After all, it was her fault you’d been dragged into this predicament – and the thought almost makes you want to drag your feet all along the floor just for her to work out with a pail and stick.

You turn on the water, tossing your towel onto the rack on the side… and wait for it to turn hot.

When it finally does turn hot, it strikes you that you’d left the shampoo and shower gel on the other side. You groan and grumble, annoyed at the two-time trip. You make your way to the counter, grabbing your

A tearful Nachi steps out of the stall, struggling to get her balance right; hours of sitting on a bowl would do that to you. She’s as naked as a blue jay, and very much true to her statement – she reeks, even worse than you do – and limps towards the counter with naught but a word.

‘Okay, come on, let’s get you into the showers.’ You say, trying to sound a little upbeat – you hold your breath a little as it hits you just how much of a downer her scent is, but you don’t put any blame on her. It was just a bad, embarrassing circumstance, that was all. ‘Upsy-daisy – you able to walk.’

‘I can barely feel my ass.’ She grumbles, no more pleased at the situation than you are. ‘Never mind my feet feel like they got little ants crawling all over them.’

‘To the showers it is, then. Let’s go.’ You roll your eyes, pulling her past the partition – more like dragging her while holding her up, really, while keeping yourself from slipping. ‘No offense, Nachi, but you really need a good scrub down.’

‘I got my own soap, thanks.’ She grumbles, looking away from you.

You roll your eyes again, muttering under your breath. The shower looks to be hot and, hopefully, comfortable enough for the both of you; seeing as none of the other KanMusu had dragged themselves upstairs in all the hubbub, you can safely say that you’d probably hit a safe spot in the big picture. You hold Nachi steady and drop onto the floor with a wet plop, the now-slightly-less-tearful KanMusu in your arms feeling the first droplets of water fall upon her, your arms around her waist, steadying her so she doesn’t drop to the side.

You know she could probably sit down by herself – she wasn’t a child – but you’d dragged her this far, anyway, you surmise that you might as well finish the job with her.

‘Do you prefer papaya or strawberry?’ You ask, trying to lighten the mood.

You know if there was any KanMusu in your Division that would have despised being in Nachi’s position… it would be Nachi, really. Never mind that you’d stuck a finger into her a day and change back, having to ask for toilet paper, be dragged to the shower for wash and having to be washed by the Commander you’d dubbed as incompetent and unfit, along with several throwing several snipes along with a punch at… must have felt very humiliating, for someone who had been on the other side.

‘I have my o – !’ She pushes on your knees to get up… only to slip again – this time painfully on your private parts; you hold back a wince, thankful it hadn’t just given up and dropped.

Nachi holds back a hiss… and you hold back some physical doling – that had hurt.

‘Papaya.’ She grumbles, sighing amidst the hiss from the showerhead above.

You get to to work, squirting Kaga’s bottle of papaya essence all over your hand, and rubbing it into her scalp, the CA sitting on you continuing to grumble as you scrubbed and lathered under the rain. Nachi doesn’t complain, she doesn’t let out a peep, even, as you tend to her long strands of hair.

‘No problem.’ You lather her hair a bit more, rubbing into her scalp as your fingers make their way up her head from the long strands of hair that made up her locks. ‘Feeling better?’

‘A little,’ she admits, before breathing out the next words like a dragon swearing a grudge, ‘but you better keep me away from Shigure – if I see her again, I am definitely going to choke her.’

You sigh, washing your own hair. You struggle to find just what to say to alleviate the situation; the last thing you wanted on your hands was a reason for your subordinates to go at each others’ throats the moment your back was turned to them. Shigure hadn’t been the most open-armed of your KanMusu, but you don’t think she’d do that kind of thing to Nachi out of malice.

‘I know she’s not exactly on everyone’s party invite list, but…’ you struggle to go on, the words leaving your tongue as soon as you find them. You pause in your action, grabbing another bottle – the shower gel. ‘she probably just forgot, Nachi. I don’t think Shigure would have left you there on purpose.’

At least, you believe that to be the case.

Nachi doesn’t respond, even as your hands fit on her waist, rubbing the foam and the soap everywhere it can get. You rack your thoughts for other things to say that could keep the situation cool – maybe have them just shake hands and declare themselves comrades and sisters? That usually worked in those old cartoons, but with Nachi and Shigure, two cases of headstrong KanMusu… you really don’t know. You bring your hands up to Nachi’s breasts, casually spreading the soap and foam with no more than a grunt from her.

You take heart in that she at least didn’t knock you one… then again, you had already seen it all; it probably didn’t matter for her at this point.

You’re shaken from your small reverie by the sudden movement of Nachi, leaning into your chest, easing into you like a viper that had had its fill.

‘If you say so.’ She utters, humming as the shower beads fall upon her, your hands running all around her upper torso in an effort to get her clean – at least the smell had gone, somewhat.

‘That’s surprising.’ You chuckle beside her ear.

‘What’s surprising?’ She turns to you, her long locks half-obscuring her eyes.

‘You, agreeing with me.’ You point out, moving her hair from her shoulders to give her a rub down. ‘Usually there’s some sort of barb in there about how incompetent I am.’

‘Have no illusions, I don’t think you’re Commander material.’ She says; you grimace – no, there are no illusions upon you that you are anything close to it by her standards.

‘Did you want me to – ?’ You cock your head to one side, confused; you were just being thorough.

‘You’re oddly hesitant in your movements.’ She chuckles, craning her neck back so that your eyes could meet proper. ‘You were a lot less so when you were shaving me. What’s up?’

‘I’m getting there.’ You frown, annoyed at the intrusion. ‘Besides, if you can move your hands by now, I think you can give yourself a good scrub, right?’ You keep rubbing her back, anyway, the soap spilling onto the wet floor.

She brings her hand there, making you jump. Nachi’s grip is firm, her fingers lithe and rough, her thumb flicking over you almost absent-mindedly. You want to yell at her for daring to intrude upon you like that, but after what you’d done before, it’d sound oddly hypocritical and fallen on wasted ears. The dark-haired KanMusu looks in fascination, holding it in her hands… before chuckling at your indignant features. She had probably picked up a thing or two from your last meeting.

‘Was I seating on this?’ Nachi giggles, to your red cheeks. She winks, not unlike Takao. ‘I’m sorry – I didn’t know I was squishing it.’

‘You can let go now, you know.’ You scrunch your face into an unpleasant emotion, her forward nature trying on your patience now of all time – this is what you get for trying to be nice, you suppose.

‘You stuck a finger in me.’ She says pointedly, like a child pointing out a reason to take away a toy from another. ‘I think you owe me a little fondle at least, Commander.’

‘This is harassment,’ you groan, but don’t otherwise do anything else – it’s not as if she was going to do anything else than what she was… that is, running her thumb over the head and giving it an uncomfortable lift, ‘hey, it’s not – not a stinkin’ joystick, you know! It doesn’t turn the other side!’

‘I’m just curious.’ She rolls her eyes, leaning into you. ‘You don’t have to be so upset about it.’

‘Sorry.’ You apologize… for what, you don’t really know. It doesn’t matter now, anyway – you’d said it. ‘It just doesn’t work that way – and you weren’t squishing it.’ You grimace, wondering if Kaga’s humor was rubbing off on you a little too much. ‘Not much to squish, anyway.’

Nachi lets out a small laugh, sighing as your hands rub over her thighs and to her crossed legs and back to her ribs. She lifts her hands for you to work; you alternate between her body and yours, working diligently and as well as you can with what you have.

‘I doubt anything else could fit, anyway, right?'

>‘Are we seriously talking about penises in the shower?’ (Exasperated)>‘Most girls like them big.’ (Informative)>‘I am not talking about penises in the shower.’ (Defiant)>Write-In

‘Are we seriously talking about penises in the shower?’ You groan, feeling a headache coming along.

‘Well, we can talk about our feelings.’ Her shoulders shake with laughter as she turns around to meet your eyes again, that damnable smirk on her face as unbearable as your previously sore shoulder had been. ‘Humor me, Commander, come on. Not like there’s anything else we can talk about that’s not going to end up with one of us unconscious on the floor from sheer boredom.’

‘I really don’t feel like talking about this.’ You grunt, working with her thighs – you really, really didn’t feel like it; as bare as you both were to one another, you talking about this horrible, particular topic didn’t suit well with your stomach.

‘Would you rather me find out for myself? I have one within an arm’s reach and I can be really curious when I want to be.’ She says in a sing-song voice, getting up from you and taking a seat across.

You honestly can’t comprehend which would be more bizarre if you told yourself ten years ago: that you would be talking about penises in a shower with a KanMusu or that you had somehow, against all odds, ended up under the shower with one after taking care of a potty emergency.

Who, apparently, in your time taking that thought, was playing with the tip of your tool.

Although, you reason that she could be doing that just to screw around with you.

‘Well, depends on what you want.’ You manage, swatting her hand away and frowning at her in discouragement – Nachi merely crosses her arms underneath her chest, now listening. ‘Girls like curvy or – I’m sorry, I can’t do this. It’s just a horrible thing to talk about. I don’t feel comfortable with it.’

You grimace – you’d lasted barely a sentence into the question.

‘You humans and your stray thoughts.’ She smirks, laughing underneath the fall of the rain. ‘It’s not that hard to keep a calm head. Just be systematic about it. Like, just say, women have a liking for my particular type of appendage as it is tiny and therefore, easy to – !’

You double over in laughter. Nachi’s voice had taken to a strange lecturer’s tone – probably some wizened old man, if you heard properly, but it was such a horrible attempt that it has you in stitches.

‘You have a talent for that.’ You point out, the hot water dropping all around you. ‘Not at imitation, but that voice really sells the comedy aspect, for real.’

She smiles sadly at you, the tune of the whole atmosphere changing as quickly as her expression.

‘My sister and I… Ashigara and I… we used to do a double act at Mamiya’s old haunt.’ She tucks a bang, wet, behind her ear. ‘We hoped to enter the Prix one day; I did the voices and she was the tsukkomi and, uh…’

>>431806No, that comes from the fact that she's a decorated veteran and to her, you're an uppity maybe that's supposed to steer her on the field. Think Aliens: The Commander's Gorman to Nachi's Vazquez in her view.

‘I know what happened on your file.’ You tentatively begin, shifting slightly in your seat on the floor.

Nachi scoffs, rubbing the foam around herself as the water keeps falling, reaching into the cracks where you hadn’t dared to venture, her fangs bare with what was between annoyance, anger, impatience and restraint; you wonder if it would have been better for you to keep quiet, to not say a word of it.

‘Yeah, that kinda happens when you walk into a turkey shoot – don’t matter how many medals you have, you’re going to need a miracle to crawl yourself out of there.’ She gets to her feet, looking away from you and lathering herself again; she moves to dismiss you, to shut you out… and if you had been a wise man, you would have done so.

‘I don’t know if I can say I’m sorry for your loss.’ You get to your feet, wobbling and slipping slightly – the floor was wet and your mind was elsewhere. ‘It doesn’t feel right to say it.’

‘Hm?’ She looks back at you, a curious gaze clouding her orbs.

‘I won’t patronize you, but losing those that you love, that doesn’t get any easier – I’m not sure the feeling goes harder than it gets, even – I don’t know if I’m qualified.’ You move your finger underneath your eyepatch, rubbing your eyelid – the water had somehow given you a Hell of an itch.

‘Qualified for what?’ She snaps, turning away from you again, tending to her hair.

‘To tell you I’m sorry.’

Nachi stops all movement – you worry for a brief moment if she’s even breathing… or would throw a punch to your gut or even a lower, more favorable target. Amidst the hiss of the shower, you hear labored, impatient… angry breathing.

‘What do…’ Her back is still to you, and she’s still tending to her hair. ‘You’re typical, you know that? Giving it out and pulling it away; friggin’ tease.’

‘I won’t pretend. You know me.’ You let out, your brain for some reason ignoring every instinct to survive. ‘It’s easy to throw out your words.’

‘You – !’

Nachi rounds on you, and you take a step back, waiting for the punch.

It never comes, but a hand on your shoulder does… even if she doesn’t look at you.

‘SHO-WER!’ Comes a familiar cry – and you see a tower-clad Shigure waltz in.

She spies you and Nachi, looking between the both of you, a look realization taking over her face.

‘That’s right!’ Shigure bumps her fist into an open palm, her face one of the utmost seriousness.

She marches over to you like a regimented soldier, stiff and prim, her lips scrunched and her eyes looking forward.

‘Commander!’

She points to the annoyed Nachi, whose eyes widen in surprise.

‘Nachi’s… stuck in the toilet!’

You don’t have enough hands to bury your face in that night. You really don’t.

You struggle to put on your jacket, rushing down, Kaga in tow right behind you. You really couldn’t blame her for not waking you up this time, seeing as she’d pulled an all-nighter at the Command Tent herself. Your fatigues are barely held together after two days of no washing, but you supposed that they would have to do, especially considering how embarrassing it’d be for you to ask your own subordinates to do your laundry; maybe you could just dump them in a pail of detergent and dry them out yourself later.

You wonder how the Admiral and Vice-Admiral did it; they never seemed to reek as bad as you did in uniform.

You trip.

You thank your lucky stars that Nagato is at the bottom of the flight to catch you, rather impressively, with one arm and holding you up like a ballerina duet without much effort on her part.

‘Graceful as always, sir.’ Kaga quips, smirking as she makes her way past you and towards the door.

You glare at Kaga’s retreating back before noticing your awkward position with Nagato. You quickly dismount yourself from her hand, rather impressed with her show of strength before straightening your jacket and pants. At the back of your head you remember the chastising words of the lady from yesterday, feeling a certain embarrassment at just how correct she’d turned out to be on your manner of conduct. For whatever reason, you’re glad that she isn’t around to catch you – or the Admiral, for that matter.

‘Thank you, Nagato.’ You give her a slight, formal bow, which she returns with a curt nod, before the both of you enter the common hall to see your two attendants, their backs to you, going through folder after folder, your arrival unnoticed. ‘You wanted to see me for something?’

You hadn’t woken up until Nagato had gone up to rush you to attend to your daily grind, and something that she apparently wanted to have signed off for herself.

‘Yes, sir, it’s about this, actually,’ she brings out a piece of from behind her, complete with a letter fixed with the Admiralty’s seal, ‘there might be a transfer coming in in a week or so.’

>>434090I mean my parents never forced any lessons on me, but when I was like 17 I learned how to play the guitar because I wanted to start a grunge band. It ended up just being me a buddy from the high school choir group.

‘Schutzstaffel?’ You frown – that was a weird thing to call a Submarine; you don’t even know what language that was from – you’d never heard it before.

‘It’s an in-joke among the KanMusu.’ Nagato offers a grimace, nodding her head as she leans against the wall, trying to make sense of the title to you. ‘SS, you know?’

You cock your head to one side, confused. Nagato herself rolls her eyes in exasperation; you shake it off at this, trying to get back on point.

‘Doesn’t sound like something to joke about, if you’re this worried.’ You point out, crossing your arms, the paper crumpling underneath your elbow as you indicate it with a jab from your chin. ‘What’s up with this, anyway?’

Nagato looks tired – no, haggard – all at once the weight of a fact drops on her, and you feel yourself go out for her. You’d never seen her like this – she’d always been poised and serious, but right now, she looks like she’d foregone a whole week’s sleep and her brow creases with worry an uncertainty.

There was something more to this than a transfer.

‘Do you know what the punishment for KanMusu that go rogue is?’

‘In Nachi’s case, she’s put on parole, but… I think that’s because she’s just too good a soldier to lose, anyway.’ The both of you share a chuckle – the situation eases slightly, and you’re thankful Nagato let go of that awful slump. It was uncomfortable. ‘What do they – ?’

‘How do you think they get the KanMusu that’s gone rogue to stay in one put long enough to be given punishment?’

It hits you. It never crossed your mind how they did that, truthfully. You’d always imagined the MPs pull something out or a bunch of fairies sprinkling their dust on the KanMusu.

‘The Submarine’s Hull Classification is SS.’ She explains – so that’s what the two S’s stood for – it was a reclassification into an equivalent nick. ‘We decided with what they do, they might as well earned it.’ ‘Their Division is separate from the three Bases. I don’t think I’ve even met their direct Officer.’

You may not know who it was, but you had a pretty good idea who had just as much hold on them.

‘The Submarines are the KanMusu Termination Division.’ Nagato finishes, almost vomiting the words out; she looks as though she’d spat out something vile. ‘They’re the rod and cane for the unruly students, and in some very select cases, the hangman.’

‘What?’ You let out, barely more than a whisper.

‘Believe me, the fact that they’re sending one here to play watchdog over us is bad enough,’ she grits out, ‘but with the noise you’ve been making, sir, I’m sorry to say, we’re not going to have much of a choice in this.’

>‘I can refuse this, right? This is still my barracks and my Division.’ (Refuse to sign her on)>‘I’ll sign.’ (Accept the assignment)>Write-In

>>434233So we should probably be successful in a few more high-level missions if we want to get rid of the submarine, right? Also can she be sent out on missions like the other division members, or is she just there to watch us?

>>434313While I enjoy the drama this situation creates from a writer's perspective, if I were the commander I would be obsessively watching the "slipped on his tea" scene in the Hunt for the Red October.

‘There’s no way around this? Not at all?’ You inquire one last time, crossing your arms.

‘The Admiral got the letter from the Court of Admirals last night.’ Nagato explains, still looking fatigued – this discussion wasn’t doing her any favors in the ease department. ‘It’s not a request from him, it’s an order from upstairs – the fact that we’re the only active base left is only another reason that they have for sparing manpower. You could say no, but he’ll still be saying yes – and she will know that you said no to her presence.’

‘The Admiral does have a right to refuse, right?’ You inquire; this was his base, after all – you find a hard time believing that the man that had socked the Grand Lieutenant right in front of you would take this lying down.

‘Not when it comes from the Court of Admirals itself.’ Nagato slides against the wall, coming down to a crouch and looking very small, as does the tone of her voice – she sounds like she’s bereft of energy. ‘The Grand Lieutenant may have tabled it, but the Court of Admirals has pushed it – he can’t say no to them unless he wants to be reassigned… or worse, tried.’

You rub your temples… so this is where your previous incompetency had dragged you.

‘Is she going to be under my Command? Directly?’

‘She won’t be reporting to you, no,’ Nagato bites her lip, focusing on your shoes from her crouched position, ‘but she’ll definitely be expecting to participate in missions as either an auxiliary member or an observer – as long as we just show her we’re doing our best with what we have… I don’t think there’s reason for us to worry about her being here.’

‘Is that for you or for me?’ You grimace; seeing her act like this was hard for you – she always seemed so sure when it came to these sort of things.

‘I’m sorry, I…’ she runs a hand through her hair, ‘I didn’t think that this would have ever happened. I blame myself for not being a better Sub-Commander; we could have avoided this if I’d just advised you better; you had no way of know – !’

‘You couldn’t have known how much crap I would have put myself into.’ You put back, sitting down in the hallway with her. ‘Sometimes I don’t believe it either – it’s like some loons are rolling some really bad odds on me, sometimes.’

‘I pride myself on my guesswork.’ She chuckles mirthlessly. ‘It’s how I’ve operated for as long as I can remember.’

‘I take pride in it, too.’ You reassure her, bringing a hand to her cheek and turning her face towards you, a small smile creeping onto her features. ‘Don’t think the Division could operate without it, either.’

‘Flatterer.’ She giggles, if only just a little.

‘I’ll sign.’ You concede, turning back to the piece of paper. ‘We’ll have to start clearing up a room for our guest, huh?’

‘Anything else you’d like to go over with me while you’re here?’ You inquire; you might as well get whatever else over and done with, what with both of you resting against the wall like a pair of truant teenagers.

‘Just the one.’ Nagato sounds a little icy at this, turning to you. ‘Shigure’s been scheduled to be fitted out with her Support upgrade today, so you won’t be able to meet her today… and Takao said she’d like to see you later in the day, if you have time for it.’ She finishes, grimacing.

‘Did she say what she wanted to see me for?’ If Nagato’s reaction had been anything to go by, it wasn’t something for you to look forward to with a loaf and a bottle.

‘If it’s what I’m guessing, it’s probably going to have to do with our new guest, but that’s just me.’ Nagato sighs, the thought of the transfer still on her mind. She turns to you, hitting her head to the back of the wall with a thud. ‘She didn’t seem to think it was a priority, but I suggest that you go to see her anyway. She didn’t look… particularly happy talking to me about it, though.’ Nagato frowns, recalling.

‘Takao? Unhappy?’ You snort, looking ahead. ‘What’s next? Shigure wanting to open up about her feelings?’

For some reason, the conversation shifts to Nagato’s feelings on paperwork and your own puzzlement at several contradictory statements and comparing handwriting, print, all the sort of things that you wouldn’t have cared for, otherwise.

It’s a little surreal you find, here you were, playing the horrible boss as the two of your attendants worked in the room over with Nagato, your workaholic of a Sub-Commander, talking work but ultimately just enjoying each others company. It was like a water cooler conversation as

‘You know, this feels like… you know, normal.’

‘Hm?’ Nagato turns to you.

‘Two workmates, taking a chill by the wall, the world revolving around them and all we do is shit on about other people.’

‘I wouldn’t have a clue,’ Nagato gets to her feet, as do you, ‘but it does feel good to be casual about…’ she trails off, biting a lip, before giving you a silent salute and a bow. ‘Have a good one, sir. You know where you can find me.’

You give her a smile as she turns on her heel, heading for the door.

You enter the common area to the hailing of your two hardworking subordinates, eager to get at least the one pile out of the way.

‘Sorry I’m late, gentlemen.’

Maybe today wouldn’t be such a drag, after all.

4/4>Look for a KanMusu (Specify)>Seek out Officers/Staff (Specify)>District Management>Wander>Write-In

‘Thanks for today, gentlemen.’ You set down your pen, sighing. ‘I think we’ve gone through the crux of the things that needed going through, have a good lunch.’

The two of your attendants follow suit, already folding their pencil cases and straightening out their files. Your bulky attendant grumbles as he drops his stack on the floor while you pick up your files and begin to straighten them out. Times like these, you feel somewhat thankful that you have a prosthetic that didn’t feel the strain or fatigue – or as much, anyway – as you get to your feet.

Maybe, you muse, you should invest in and IN and OUT box on the side.

‘No problem, sir.’ The lanky attendant gets to his own feet, grinning widely in contrast to his grumbling friend. ‘We’ll see you the day after tomorrow.’

‘Day after tomorrow?’ You blink – you weren’t aware of any breaks… and you couldn’t have given them one yourself.

‘Oh, we’re takin’ part in Mamiya’s Open Mic Night – tomorrow’s a day off for everyone that wants to participate!’ The bulky clarifies – that made more sense. ‘Gonna show off our chops to the rest of the base.’

‘I heard there’s gonna be a talent scout there, too!’

‘No, there isn’t, you dolt!’

You raise your hand to get their attention, not quite willing to see another one of their scuffles before you could put your own words in – this time, with a certain DD you had in mind.

‘Do you know where I can find Murakumo?’

‘Oh, she’ll be at the range, I reckon!’ Your bulky attendant tells you. They really did know pretty much everything you didn’t, rally. ‘She was awful enthusiastic about getting her score up or something?’

‘The practice range, huh?’ You knew what that was from yesterday’s paper stack, but you weren’t quite sure of its exact location. ‘Where would that be?’

‘Near the ruins of the old base.’ Your bulky attendant shrugs, much to your lanky attendant’s apparent consternation; he knocks him at the back of the head.

‘It’s on the old base site, you wad! The off-limits part!’ He rolls his eyes, muttering under his breath.

‘Still, it’s a pretty long walk, sir, if you’re planning on getting there. You can’t miss it, it’s that big white ruin by the rocks on the other side of town.’ Your bulky attendant rubs his chin in contemplation, in deep thought. ‘You can wait for a buggy to come around past the corner with us, though.’

‘How long a walk are we talking from here?’ You inquire; you’d been used to finding your way around with your own two feet – and you supposed you owed yourself a jog after yesterday’s embarrassing events.

‘An hour, at least… and you’ll be liable to get lost.’

‘Alright, gentlemen.’ You chuckle, having made your decision.

>‘I’ll wait for a buggy with the two of you.’>‘I could use a walk, truthfully.’

>>436520>>‘I’ll wait for a buggy with the two of you.’On a side note, we should try to drag the Admiral or vice admiral into open mic night with us. That or nachi/shiggy. I feel like it would be...Interesting, to say the least.

It takes a few minutes to arrange the stacks of paper, to put them aside and classify them according to their sections – there’s a few more minutes of arguing between the both of them on whether the Barracks maintenance issues are to be sent to Yuubari, Ooyodo or straight to the maintenance department… before deciding that the bulky attendant had the responsibility to check in out.

So, in a huff, he carries the folders to the corner, where two other men have a smoke and chat – maintenance crew members probably taking a break.

It’s about fifteen minutes until a buggy arrives; again, it’s not the old man. You haul yourself into the passenger seat, while the others clambers into the back. You request your destination, and he acknowledges it with a curt nod. The others put their ticks in, but you don’t bother to hear, leaning back

He decides to drop you off first. It’s a bit of a drive, as your attendants had said – enough that you power nap some five minutes or more.

As the buggy stops, it hits you that this is the second time you’d be visiting the Command Facility. You’d only been here once… and shipped straight to the training sites with your fellow applicants.

With a salute and a smile, you’re out on the asphalt, looking at where used to be a guard post and the main driveway.

The base is in ruins, that much they were right about. There were pieces of rubble littered, the main office building where the Admiral may have used to do his day-to-day had looked like it had imploded into a pyramid, steel and wires sticking out like indicators, warnings to those that would come. The open sea is there on the other side, calm and serene under the afternoon sun, while around you see zinc and stone flat, a testament to the power of the Abyssals.

You look to your left and right, seeing that you’re not quite alone. A few men, mostly middle-aged, were moving things – judging by their bands and uniform, they were probably part of the maintenance crew assigned here. None of them pay you any heed, busy with their jackhammers and shovels.

You see what looks like another building, a single floor block, utterly decimated.

It’s like walking through a ghost town.

You walk a bit more forwards, some distance away from what was the main building into what looked like a half-stadium that eked out into a makeshift, man-made bay. Where there would be electronic doors was nothing but shattered glass and a table in a moderate stretch of space with a table and board.

PLEASE CLEAN UP AFTER YOU’RE DONE - Naganami

You approach the edge of the floor, where two set of stairs – one blocked by rubble, so you head down the other – and hear grunt and gunfire.

>>436616Only if we are going into the line of fire. Startle someone and anything could happen, but even in error, we know shes not going to fire 180 degrees or anything. Plus its not like we have anything urgent to say to her, we can wait till she gets to a stopping point.

You hear approaching footsteps from one side of the large hall – the large cove – with a pool that let itself out to the open sea.

On the waters were large buoys of the phallic persuasion, about three to four times your size, a rusty brown and swaying left and right, never toppling. They were strange contraptions, with what looked like holographic red markers on top, each and every one of them moving in a disbelievingly straight line across the pool and out into the cove.

The footsteps and the voice belong to Hiei, clad in civilian wear of a dress in frills, looking very much out of place. Murakumo herself is clad in a tank top and spats, fully equipped with her weaponry… which, strangely, was being linked to what looked like a generator by strange-looking cables that seemed to have an eerie purple glow seeping out from them, connected to a large black box that looked small, but was probably heavier than you’d be able to carry.

‘I’ve seen you do better, Murakumo. I sure hope you’re not growing lazy now, of all times.’ Hiei chastises, putting her hands on her hips as she watches Murakumo skate across the water, idle.

‘I know. I can’t get the fourth load in.’ Murakumo practically spits out, cursing. ‘It’s a shitshow – I wish I could get my old grounded gear back… I’m not used to these anymore.’

‘You replenished?’ Hiei inquires, not missing a beat.

‘I think my fairies are up and loaded.’ Murakumo turns to the cables and the box, cocking her arm – the sound of an armed gun echoes as she turns around back to the open sea again. ‘How are things, girls?’

The weaponry and the box glow blue, and Murakumo flexes an arm.

‘Well, your cooldown time is 20 minutes.’ Hiei points out, frowning from where you’re standing. ‘What’s up with that stretch of 5 for you fifth replenishment?’ She snickers. ‘Haven’t been eating too well?’

‘You want to see it again?’ Murakumo gives Hiei a tired look… and spins into the air.

She’s acrobatic.

You may have thought that Shigure was a hell of a speedster, but Murakumo’s agility was nothing to scoff at. She fires off round after round with much – and by much you mean none – of the imbalance that Shigure had, her shots firing wildly past the holographic targets. Murakumo blasts and blasts from a distance, every second or third spin or corner has her release a burst.

One, two, three, and… she stops.

‘Between the third and the fourth volley there’s a delay.’ Hiei nods, unimpressed. ‘That means you’re blowing through them too fast.’

‘If I don’t I won’t be able to get suppression up; if I slow down, they'll drop an opening on me!'

‘You’re not built for that; I think I’ve told you this every time we’ve met up.’ Hiei steps out onto the water – as soon as she does, you’re blinded by a flash of light… she’s in full gear now, several fairies suddenly popping around her, floating and chirping – even from where you’re seated you can hear them. ‘You’re made for precision – focus on that.’

Hiei’s guns aren’t as big as Nagato’s… but they sure look a lot more battered, more used.

‘I’m accurate enough ten yards out – they barge in like bears, anyway.’

‘I’m sure you are – you’re not a Battleship, Murakumo – your job, if anything is to get the clean kill.’ Hiei lectures, training her guns absent-mindedly. ‘We’re all built for different things, and you spraying your shells all over's Wasteful.’

‘You're saying like that - !'

Hiei fires her three times in a ringing din, hitting three targets.

Murakumo’s features only grow more defiant.

‘Now do I have your attention?’

‘I’ll get pummeled if without the suppression.’ She retorts.

‘Dropping a volley on your first assault is wasteful – !’

‘Not if I’m moving solo, I’m not going to have a Battleship or a Carrier covering me if I make contact!’ She interjects, swiping her hand to get the point across.

‘I’m not saying that you can’t do it, but it’s not something you practice!’ Hiei snarls. ‘What you need to be doing is focusing on your killing strikes – your ammo capacity is 4 bursts, maybe 5 if you’re lucky before you’re able to hang back and replenish!’ She gives Murakumo’s guns a light tap, still glaring. ‘And with the gear that you have, you’re not going to be able to do much with it anyway!’

‘So you do agree that the gear’s to blame?’

‘You – !’ Hiei rubs her temples, her annoyance building. ‘Urgh…’

There’s a bit of silence between the both of them, sizing up one another. You wonder if you shouldn't have dropped in just now.

‘You know, this is the reason that the Vice-Admiral wanted to send you back for re-evaluation; you may not be a loose cannon, but you seem to think that whatever it is that goes on in your noggin is worth more than what anyone else thinks!’ Hiei cracks.

‘Says the Poster Girl!’ Murakumo pokes her chest.

‘If you’re going to practice your assault, you’re going to have to realize that you’re going to need a trade-off – and with you being a Destroyer, your survivability is more important than how much dish out in the engagement.’

Murakumo glares even more defiantly.

‘You’re telling me to stop?’

‘I’m telling you that you should cut back on the ammo dump.’ Hiei reinforces pointedly. 'No point in wasting 'em if you're not going to be able to cut more than a few inches in.'

>>436731>>‘Leave me out of this.’They both bring up good points. Murakumo should at least train for any potential situation, but we probably don't have the ammunition to spare at this time. Assuming "ammunition" is actually a physical, finite thing.

>>436731>AgreeIf the shitty gear won't cooperate with how you like to operate, train something else. If you can hit a guy with a wrench, you can hit him with a cannonshell. We've just only got wrenches now, is the problem.

>>436898How exactly is choosing to stay out of an argument white knighting? And furthermore, regarding our actions in previous threads, how is prioritizing comrades over random people white knighting? Is it just because they're women? If someone was getting uppity with our attendants, I would expect the commander to act the same way as he would for KanMusu.

>>436815The way you write characters, I expect the sub to be more than just "I will grin evilly, stare creepily and talk about how I hope somebody goes rogue", have more depth than just being a psycho soldier.

And then at least some of us will start waifuing her because goddamit waifu tendencies

>>437674Those that hold a "full assault" are essentially DDs in-verse required to essentially solo at last half a Squadron. That task is usually left up to the heavy hitters, who are usually the CAs, BBs and when they're up to bat, the CV(L)s.

So far, you've only been able to see Shigure pull that off... and she ran out of ammo some time into the skirmish, almost costing you the mission.

DDs in this world with full assault responsibilities and the trust given to them for it are considered the top guns.

>>437772Will we ever learn what happens to people and KanMusu that get abducted by the Abyssals? I already have a pretty good notion of what's probably happening, but It'd be interesting to find out for sure.

Just a quick warning to you folks - planefag is going to drop by and give a scathing review of my Quest. if possible, I'd like you folks to discuss with him civilly on his points - but I'd appreciate it if you guys could point out which points of his does have at least some bearing for me to take notice with and move on:

Like: pacing, the world interaction and the like. Also, your opinion on the characters and what you want to move on for them would encourage me to get better, so I guess I'm asking that, too.

Maybe you didn't think Tenryuu with IC with the breast grope, how Takao's emotional swinging in regards to the MC are tedious, or whatever it is. Till page 6, you folks have a good one.

>>438934FUN FACT: The Subs are the only designation with no casualties. They don't... go out much.

>>439940Personally, I've noticed you use a lot of metaphors. I don't mind the length of your posts, it's just that your metaphors can be distracting at times. Other than that, there are times where I can't really catch the meaning of some subtext, and sometimes that causes me to interpret a character's actions incorrectly.

>>439973What kind of rewards are we talking about here, exactly? Most of the choices are there for you to build rapport with your crew - I was explicit on not making a numbered meter for this because I wanted the Questers to actually feel I'd the girl or guy in question seemed to have a thing for or against you as the Commander instead of checking a value chart.

Get people more connected, you know.

Or are you saying I'm giving too many rewards? I'm sorry if I'm misinterpreting the meaning here.

Or if it's a roll/mission reward, I already outlined the rewards vectors in a previous chapter for gear upgrades and the like.

>>439980I think what he's talking about is that the past few threads have been slice of life so far. Character building and all that, sure, but there hasn't really been any heightened tension since the Princess mission. There's looking forward to finding out whatever weapon killed the Princess, but that's been a slow-burning thing that's gonna take a while to do. So insofar it feels very relaxed, not much opportunity to get the cathartic satisfaction from a villain getting comeuppance or doing a job well done.

I'll admit that, on your prose, you have a tendency to be overly metaphorical and flowery. When there's people doing things and talking, I'd read because it doesn't get too bogged down in describing things, but when you start...getting emotional I guess? I don't know what the word is, but it's like the section of a a Dresden Files book where the MC narrates about morality or human compassion or his own guilt in his own head. It gets a bit tedious reading overwrought porse. I still remember a line that went essentially "Nagato's breast is the beast man was meant to fall for" and how it made me lose my sides.

The worst of it was in the Nagato and Takao threesome where the prose got so thick in similes and metaphors that I lost track of what the characters were doing and had only a vague idea of what position they were in. But at least it's leagues ahead of Nasu.

>>440090Oh, that part I definitely agree. I was trying to play the emotional angle and it got.... well, overplayed.

>Things are kinda relaxed right now, no tensionI admit this much, too. I'll try to amp up the worry as this has been a period of RnR anyway, and I'm trying to get that easing period down. I believe I've overshot it and made you guys too relaxed.

Great that you think so. I'll get back to you on that. Just remember that you asked for me to tweak it, okay?

>>440172I really don't mind the slice-of-life parts, It'd be a little bit depressing if our time off was just as grimdark as the rest of the war. Still, I fidn myself forgetting that we're on the front lines sometimes. A good way to really illustrate that would be to show the in-land areas as almost a whole other world when we go there. Sort of like how in All Quiet on the Western Front, the MC goes home on leave and realizes that he doesn't even understand his old friends and family anymore because they're so disconnected from the war.

Really the best materials for inspiration regarding a war of attrition would be WWI literature. I don't know if you've read A Farewell to Arms, but I would recommend it as well.

>>439965I personally love that feel you have going on. It does feel lengthy, but not in a bad way. like>>440309 said though, the SoL parts have felt kind of detached from the story. Nobody really seems to be worried that our shit may get stomped in any moment

>>440409Farewell to Arms is by Hemingway, so it's pretty depressing in its own right. And like I said, I personally enjoy the slice of life stuff. It's nice to be able to get to know our division members as more than just soldiers. I'd rather things be a little bit too lighthearted than go full All Quiet. I just want to see more of the world you've written, the setting was what really grabbed my attention in the first place.

>>440443>really hardcore shitI don't think we're asking for hardcore, just that we haven't had a mission in a while.

I mean, Jesus, Tenryuu nearly fucking died on a level 2 mission, and she only got out by a string of good rolls. This is kind of too lethal unless you're looking for Attack on Titan levels of "kill off everybody"

>>440443I mean, if you think you should introduce that stuff slowly, then by all means introduce it the way you think is best. You're the person who knows the most about upcoming plot stuff, so I'm willing to trust your judgement on things like this.

>>440451This Anon makes a good point too. I really don't want our division members dropping left and right. Especially with so many unfulfilled promises to them. I wasn't necessarily saying to ratchet up the difficulty as much as maybe have the tone of things shift to be a little darker from time to time.

>>440481Eh, as long as people are playing and it's not boring, I'm motivated enough to write. That being said, though, I do want feedback to make the experience more palatable. I don't want to go by "popular" opinion, but I do want to try to find the consensus that makes it... I don't know?

Something worth coming back to and playing on the hour.

I know that there's been a lot of shit going around, but I want to try to find that middle ground that isn't so awkward: a mix of VN, RPG and Japanese conventions.

>>440495I mean, for me personally, these past three threads have been pretty refreshing after the shitstorm and subsequent hiatus. I'm pretty much content with the way things are now. Honestly, it's just good to be back questing. Especially since this quest is what actually got me interested in KanColle.

When we reach sage and it's time for opinions: This is not a hugbox. My Quest runs on people coming here and playing and enjoying it.

While I may dismiss some claims - railroading, etc - I value all input and will try to serve better. As long as it doesn't involve waifuing, you folks are welcome to toss things my way so I can IMPROVE the experience.

Although, the next person who suggests faster posting I am going to punch through the roof of their jaw. I have a life, too, man.

>>440513I think its less about the length and more whats contained within that length, if you get what im saying. To clarify what i said earlier about the SoL feeling detached, i didnt mean it was too easy or there shouldnt be SoL, but it feels like everyone is too upbeat almost, im extremely bad at expressing myself so im sure ive messed up my explanation, but then again this is why im not the qm

>>440592I think a bit of direction or hints on where we might be needed or you have something prepared for us during our down-time would be useful. Remembering even what our options are is something I can't manage to do in this text-based format.

Also one bit of Planefag's critique that stood out to me was how the world responded to our dialogue choices. You seem to keep veering between a sort of Mass Effect talk wheel and something that seems more organic. Its hard to tell when the conversation is going to end and cut off further attempts at information gathering.

Fucking hell I want my computer working again so I can quit typing on my phone. This is a bitch.

>>440783I'm in support of the hints about our down-time. Maybe having Nagato tell us at the beginning of the day who wants to see us would be nice. The way she told us about going to see Takao was very useful.

>>440783>You seem to keep veering between a sort of Mass Effect talk wheel and something that seems more organic. Its hard to tell when the conversation is going to end and cut off further attempts at information gathering.

I admit to this. I thought I was able to address it a few threads back, but it seems to have creeped back out of sheer habit. Will prune. Not to worry.

>I think a bit of direction or hints on where we might be needed or you have something prepared for us during our down-time would be useful. Remembering even what our options are is something I can't manage to do in this text-based format.

>>440812I don't know. I had a neutral opinion about him and a negative opinion about his Quest - which is why I started this one, in fact. Now I have a very negative opinion about him and my opinion about his Quest is... unchanged.

Hm... can I have a re-vote on the downtime options, then? Seems the Morning > 4/4 > Night isn't as successful as people thought it would be.

>>440811>Wouldn't that be railroading?Giving us a goal to work towards isn't railroading. As long as we still have some freedom AROUND that goal, then it'll be fine. And quests are always railroads anyway, it's just that we get to choose which tracks we're on.

>>440815I liked the night option, it just wasn't clear what would lead to what. I sort of expected that after the whole business with Nachi, we would head back downstairs and eat dinner with the rest of the Division. Wasn't expecting it to end as quickly as it did.

>>440830I like the idea of someone telling us what things we SHOULD do. Maybe not necessarily required things, but things that will make the Commander or his comrades' lives easier if he does them. Sort of like side quests.

>>440830>I need your ABSOLUTE APPROVAL that you won't be shitting on this later on. Because last thing I need is an uneven day-to-day mechanic.I ain't gonna shit on it mate, just that having a to-do list for Slice of Life sequences is gonna be good.

If you want to see "things to do day by day" slice of life done well, read Persona 2129 quest. Author does it well even though the quest starts getting bloated with things to do.

>>441025/qtg/ started out as a platform for QMs and questers to help one another. But /qtg/... has changed... ID-tagged shitposters firing ID-tagged insults on an ID-tagged board... /qtg/... has changed.

>>441025As hate-laden his review was, it actually does contain some decent advice and pointing out the initial problems of the quest. Shove the insults to the back of your head, zero in on the actual critique, take what you can from it.

>>441027I suppose I just have a sheltered life. Good friends of both genders, don't really give a hoot about opinions because people are people and desensitised to all the drop about me from being Muslim because - surprise, I went to a Protestant School.

Never met a horrible person IRL outside of some family members and my dealings with my friend's exes and the LGBT.

>>441041Check out TrickQM's post at the end of /qtg/. Then realize that Planefag has /always/ been like that. His critique of himself? He had all those problems in his first quest. Guy hasn't improved, just marinated.

>>441041He's a contrarian asshole who thinks his own shit doesn't smell. Plus his prose is fanfic-tier, and he makes very personal attacks on other QMs and questers.

>>441039You're quite lucky then. I've had to deal with terrible people my entire life. Just the other day our supervisor wanted me to crawl into a closed space filled with methane and do some welding, after I had explained to him multiple times that it would cause a fuckhuge explosion. Then he tried to get me fired for prioritizing my safety over the plant's profit margins.

>>441082Apparently not. He was some self-absorbed yuppie jacko. Luckily, I took his ass to the plant manager and threatened to call my union rep. Our crew has a different supervisor now. Still, shit like that happens all the time at big factories. Safety regs mean nothing to the supervisors.

>>441161>You guys don't want freedom in off days you want something to do.Freedom is fine, but too much freedom makes players directionless, so goals and to-do lists are good.

>You guys also want your choices to actually have a tangible affect on your relationship with the KanMusu as well as the occasional reward to feel like the effort is actually not wasted.I guess? I'm not sure what people exactly mean about this one.

>>443331Going to have to be more specific than that. Which parts of the story did you not enjoy - which character interaction sequence did you find lacking, among others? Are the combat sequences/mechanics lacking? Did you feel some places need rolls?

Which "plot points" made you uncomfortable?

I don't learn with one word "kek". If you have solid advice to make the experience better for the other Questers I'm listening.

>>443339Oh, those. Plot details. The details of the plot. The things that are going to happen and that I shouldn't spoil.

Ah, right.

Roger that.

>>443331Also, dude, I'm appreciative of having a player base. Is there anything wrong with me being thankful these folks and you, by extension, have stuck with me when t could have died like 65 percent of startups?

Naw, man, I'm thankful to have players I may not always agree with the folks, but I am very much thankful.

>>443370I need a break too, you know. Between this, prayer sessions, Call of Cthulhu sessions, work and the like, the breaks are less about a limit than me trying to avoid this being a chore rather than a hobby.